Historic 1939 World’s Fair home on the market

A Maryland Realtor emailed to let me know that Silver Spring, Maryland’s 1939 World’s Fair Town of Tomorrow home is on the market. Built as a marketing gimmick and used as collateral advertising for the New York fair, the home has had only two owners since it was completed in the summer of 1939.

Construction progress photo. The Washington Post, June 11, 1939.

I wrote about the Silver Spring home in earlier blog posts and it was featured in the National Building Museum’s 2010 exhibit, Designing Tomorrow: America’s World’s Fairs of the 1930s

Pauline and Mario Scandiffio outside their Silver Spring home with their daughter Ann.

Below are a few historic (1940s) and contemporary photos (from the Long and Foster listing site) showing the kitchen, bathroom, basement, and dining room. I sent the link for the Realtor’s Website to Ann Scandiffio. Her parents bought the home in 1939 from builders and subdivision developers Garden Homes, Inc. Ann’s mother was an amateur photographer who took many pictures of the home during the decade the family lived there. Ann saw the Realtor’s photos and wrote, “I REMEMBER that stove!!” She added, “The floor in the basement is the same, so are the doors.”

 

1939 World’s Fair home kitchen. Credit: Long and Foster.

Silver Spring World’s Fair home kitchen, 1940s. Credit: Ann Scandiffio.

World’s Fair home bathroom, 2012. Credit Long and Foster.

Silver Spring World’s Fair home, bathroom c. 1940s. Credit: Ann Scandiffio.

Basement, 2012. Credit: Long and Foster.

Basement, c. 1940s. Note original wood paneling, doors, and shelves. Credit: Ann Scandifio.

Dining room, 2012. Credit: Long and Foster.

Silver Spring World’s Fair home dining room, 1940s. Credit: Ann Scandiffio.

© 2012 D.S. Rotenstein

One thought on “Historic 1939 World’s Fair home on the market

  1. I have a shed at my home that was built with 1939 wood from the worlds fair .
    I would love to know what I should do with it . It just fell do to the storm sandy.
    Is it worth saving ?????

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